Melanie Ann Pustay became the Director of the Office of Information Policy of the United States Department of Justice in 2007. The Office of Information Policy is responsible for developing guidance for Executive Branch agencies on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), for ensuring that the President’s FOIA Memorandum and the Attorney General’s FOIA Guidelines are fully implemented across the government, and for overseeing agency compliance with the law.

Before becoming Director, Ms. Pustay served for eight years as Deputy Director of OIP, where she was responsible for the Department’s responses to access requests made to the Department’s Senior Leadership Offices, including the Offices of the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, and Associate Attorney General. Beginning in 2003 and continuing today, she has worked extensively with government officials in other countries to assist those officials in implementing their own openness-in-government initiatives.

Ms. Pustay has received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for her role in providing legal advice, guidance, and assistance on records disclosure issues. She graduated from American University’s Washington College of Law where she served on Law Review.